Robinhood Chain became a central talking point for crypto VCs
ChainFeeds’ July 12 edition of “VC Talk” put Robinhood Chain’s mainnet launch at the top of its market discussion list.
The roundup framed the launch around two questions: how long the memecoin wave can last, and how the RWA narrative may evolve from here.
Ryan Watkins of Syncracy Capital took a skeptical view. He said he sees little reason for “gamblers” to keep playing the same zero-sum game on a 2/3 multisig L2 using a set of forked protocols. In his view, every new trading chain needs a starting point, but Robinhood could have built something better instead of trying to rekindle a 2024-style trend.
Watkins also said Robinhood’s strongest move so far has been integrating Morpho and Ethena directly into the main app’s Earn feature. He argued that this is where Robinhood has an edge, because it can use its broad user distribution in a way its wallet cannot.
Mason Nystrom of Pantera Capital looked at the launch through a revenue lens. He said Robinhood’s onchain sequencer has already reached an annualized revenue run rate of more than $10 million, based on trading activity from “yesterday or today” and assuming that volume is sustained. He added that anyone who thinks Robinhood cannot maintain $300 million in daily decentralized exchange volume is underestimating its distribution power.
Danning of Pantera Capital focused on user experience rather than onchain metrics. He said Robinhood has built a smooth product that lets users move funds between onchain venues and the stock market with little friction.
He described it as his preferred zero-fee off-ramp as a retail user: move onchain USDC or Coinbase into a wallet provided by Robinhood, then convert it into cash and invest in stocks within minutes at 0 fees.
Zapper will shut down its website, mobile app, and API
ChainFeeds also flagged the shutdown of DeFi asset management platform Zapper. According to the roundup, zapper.xyz, the mobile application, and API services will close on Aug. 3.
The item was listed under discussion from DeFiance Capital and Amber Group, though no direct comments from either firm were included in the provided text.
Research covered quantum risk, AI-era flows, and market bottoming
The same edition listed several recent research notes. They included IOSG Ventures’ piece titled “Q-Day Countdown: Will quantum computing end cryptocurrencies?”, Variant Fund’s work on where new capital is entering crypto assets during the AI frenzy, and a Glassnode weekly report saying the crypto market’s bottoming process is not yet complete.
Ten public funding rounds topped $889 million in one week
On the private market side, ChainFeeds said 10 funding events were disclosed between June 29 and July 5, with total financing exceeding $889 million. The companies named were Securitize, Ionic Digital, Venice, Extended, THEA, Techdollar, Arcus, Astarter, Sunscreen, and Omni.